Kingmaker in 2019, JJP bites dust as INLD also drubbed
Chandigarh: Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which had emerged as the kingmaker last assembly polls, was decimated this time round, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) also failed to create much impact, with prominent leaders of both outfits Dushyant Chautala and Abhay Singh Chautala losing their seats.
While the JJP failed to win any seats, down from 10 segments it won in 2019 in the 90-seat Assembly, the INLD won two – one more from what it had managed in the last state elections. JJP’s Dushyant saw a crushing defeat in Uchana Kalan, a seat he was seeking a re-election from, and came in fifth place, behind the BJP and Congress candidates and two independent contestants.
BJP’s Devender Attri defeated Brijendra Singh of Congress by 32 votes from Uchana Kalan. Like Dushyant, his uncle and senior INLD leader Abhay also failed to retain his seat and lost from Ellenabad to Congress’ Bharat Singh Beniwal by a margin of 15,000 votes.
JJP and Chandra Shekhar Azad-led Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) together fought the Haryana polls, while INLD contested in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
JJP has witnessed a slide in its electoral fortunes after its alliance with the BJP came to an end in March. It became part of the government in Haryana in 2019 by forging a post-poll alliance with BJP, which had fallen six short of majority in 2019.
JJP’s vote share dropped from nearly 15 per cent in 2019 to 0.90 per cent this time.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the JJP fielded candidates on all 10 seats, but they got drubbed and even lost their security deposits. After JJP’s state unit chief Nishan Singh quit the party, seven of its 10 legislators switched over to either the Congress or BJP.
The INLD, once a prominent regional outfit, also failed to taste much success, registering victories in just two seats. In 2019, INLD had won only one seat – Abhay from the Ellenabad constituency.
Abhay and Ajay Singh Chautala are the grandsons of former deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal and son of former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala.
Ajay-led JJP, which was born after a vertical split in the parent outfit INLD in December 2018 owing to a family feud, saw a sudden rise in its graph and abrupt decline once its alliance with the BJP ended in March when the saffron party replaced Manohar Lal Khattar as CM with Nayab Singh Saini. The two seats Abhay’s INLD won on Tuesday came against his relatives in Rania and Dabwali seats in Sirsa district.
